Kahle's BlogNews and Notes from Director of Soccer Operations Justin Kahle '10. Kahle was a four-year starter on the Providence men's soccer team and played in every minute of every match at Providence.

October 17, 2011

The Friars have played three games over the past week. This is especially difficult because each of these games were Big East matches from which the Friars needed three points! Unfortunately, the first two games did not go Providence’s way. On October 12th, the Friars were home versus a versatile, battle-tested Marquette University team. Providence had a rough start to the game and found themselves down 2-1 at half-time. The spread was pushed to two when Marquette scored just nine minutes into the second half to seal a victory.

Four days later, the Friars trekked to Storrs, CT to take on the #1 team in the country, the University Connecticut Huskies. Providence was in dire need of a good, solid, team performance that could instill some real confidence in the group. Providence made sure this game was a battle. After going down 2-0, they fought back with a goal from freshman, Jimmy Petruccelli. The score would end 2-1, with the Friars having a chance cleared off the UCONN goal line in the final minute of play. The game ended in a loss, but surely brought confidence back into the play of the Friars. This lift is exactly what they needed for their must-win Saturday, a Big East matchup versus Seton Hall University.

The field was a bit sloppy from a few days of rain but this did not faze the Friars. The scoring opened with Greg Davis in the 6th minute of play, when he slickly robbed an errant back pass and dribbled around the keeper and into an empty net. Keith Jecewiz and Marcos Ugarte would both score in the final five minutes of the half to put Providence up 3-0 at the break. Sometimes, when teams have a big half-time lead they take their foot off the pedal and relax too much and allow a team back into the game. The Friars had a little slip up in the 50th minute, as Seton Hall got a goal back. But, that would be the last time Providence gave any goals away. Dan Fabian scored on a clever through ball from Marc Cintron just five minutes later to ensure that a comeback was out of reach for Seton Hall. Greg Davis would not be denied a hat-trick as he would score two goals in ten minutes to put an end to any chance of a Seton Hall revival. It was a much needed win for the Friars and a perfect send off for their games this week.

Providence heads to Pittsburgh to battle Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, then travels to West Virginia University for a Friday night matchup that will be showcased on the Fox Soccer Channel as the College Soccer game of the week. It is crunch time in Big East play and the Friars are looking to get 6 points out of this week’s travels to ensure themselves a spot in the Big East playoffs.